So Look out Now 'Cause He's Comin' After You
by Reid Phantom
Summary: Adam's not sure what he did to deserve a kid like Keith in his life. He blames Takashi for everything.
1. Arrival

**I hate writing from Adam's perspective. He's the only one who doesn't call Shiro Shiro.**

* * *

"Let me get this straight."

"But neither of us are -"

"No, none of your jokes right now. I'm being serious. This kid stole your car… and you want to take him in?"

"It would only be for a few months. Once the school year starts he'll stay in the student barracks."

"And that's another thing. This kid is a criminal. Why are you pushing so hard for him to be accepted?"

Takashi sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You saw his sim scores. No one has ever done that great right off the back. He's a prodigy."

Adam nodded and set down his tea. "Maybe so, but -"

"And it's not just that." Takashi scowled at the ceiling and ran his hand through his hair. "You should have seen the look on the teacher's face when I asked about him. The way she talked about him - the way his social worker talked about him - no one believes in him, Adam. He's still in middle school and everyone's already written him off! Eventually he's going to give up on _himself._ If he hasn't already! He could go so far if someone would just give him a chance, I know it!"

Adam sighed and leaned across the table to take his boyfriend's hand. "I get it, Takashi, really. It's just… You're taking a big chance here."

"He's worth it. I promise."

* * *

Despite his doubts, the kid moved in two weeks later. Keith Oriol was, admittedly, not as bad as he'd been picturing. He was tiny, for one. Really tiny. And while he was scowling at Adam as Takashi introduced him, his large eyes and slightly chubby cheeks made it almost look more like a pout. He hardly looked like the criminal teen he'd been picturing.

Heck, he hardly looked twelve, let alone fourteen.

"Keith, this is my partner, Adam. He lives here, too. Adam, this is Keith."

"Hey."

"Hello, Takashi's told me a lot about you."

He saw the kid mouth _Takashi_ , but said man was already turning him towards the bedroom they'd set up for him. Technically it was supposed to be Adam's, but he hadn't used it for anything more than storage in over a year.

"This will be your room," Takashi explained, opening the door. "The bathroom's right there and that's our bedroom," he added, gesturing to the other two doors in the small apartment.

The kid tilted his head and frowned. "You're not sharing because of me, right?"

"Uh, no, um…"

"Takashi and I are dating," Adam said blankly, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend's fussing.

"Oh, okay." The boy slipped into the room and glanced around.

They hadn't done much to it other than clean out their things and put fresh sheets on the bed. Takashi had considered getting a few decorations, but Adam had suggested letting Keith decide how he wanted the room to look. Other than the bed, there was just a closet and a desk with a built in computer that had come with the apartment.

"It's not much. I figured we could go out and you could pick out some things to liven it up tomorrow," Takashi said.

"Maybe some clothes too," Adam added quietly, eyeing the small backpack the boy carried, the only thing he'd brought with him from the group home.

The boy must have somehow heard him because he shot him another glare and Takashi quickly intervened. "Yes, some new clothes for a fresh start!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," the boy huffed, turning away.

Adam turned to Takashi, who gave him an appeasing look.

"We'll just let you get settled," Takashi said before closing the door. "Go easy on him."

"I'm trying, but he isn't making it easy."

"He's been in the system half his life, never staying anywhere for more than six months. Going through all that, it does things to kids. He's grown wary of… everything, really."

Adam wouldn't know. His parents were estranged, not dead. Takashi would have a better idea, even if he was older than Keith was now when he entered the system.

"Just give him time."

Adam thought about the kid's pouting glare and little bag that could hold all his worldly possessions.

Okay, maybe he was starting to see why Takashi had taken an interest.

"Alright."

* * *

"He punched a - You punched another student," Adam groaned.

"He was a dick!"

"Language," Takashi scolded.

"I don't care if he was a dick!" Adam said, setting his hands on his hips. "You can't just punch people."

"Adam, language," Takashi hissed, waving at Keith.

"No one cares about our guttermouths right now, Takashi. I'll teach him to curse in Hindi later."

"That's not the problem!"

"No, the problem is that your son is assaulting his fellow students! We need to discipline him!"

Keith gaped at him while Takashi started blushing. "Wha- He's not my -"

"I'm not his -"

Adam rolled his eyes and pointed at Keith. "You're grounded."

"What!?"

"If Takashi isn't going to punish you, I'll have to. And clearly he's not. In fact, where have you two been all day?"

Keith crossed his arms and scowled at the ground.

Takshi flinched and shuffled in place.

Adam's eyes narrowed. "You were out on the hovercycles, weren't you?"

"Adam -"

"He gets in trouble and y-" Adam shook his head. He focused back on Keith. "Did you guys eat?"

"Yes."

"Then straight to bed."

"Curfew isn't until -"

"Bed. We'll discuss the terms of your grounding tomorrow."

Keith growled - and Adam was sure he'd never get used to how inhuman that sounded - and turned to Takashi.

Adam turned to his boyfriend as well.

The man looked between the two before setting his hand on Keith's shoulder. "Go on. We'll talk tomorrow."

Keith's jaw dropped before he gave Takashi a betrayed look and disappeared into his room.

"He punched a kid and you took him out on the hovercycles," Adam hissed quietly as soon as the door was shut.

"I had a point to it."

"Oh really. And what was that?"

"He needed to learn patience, and I think I got through to him."

"And how did you do that?"

Takashi fidgeted. "I drove off a cliff."

"TAKASHI!"

"I'm fine. I had everything under control. I've done that maneuver hundreds of times."

"Our son is going to grow up to be a maniac," Adam bemoaned, walking over to collapse onto the couch. He only caught a quick glimpse of Takashi's red face before he buried his own in his hands.

"He's not our kid."

"Takashi, you adopted him."

"Technically the Garrison has legal custody. I've just been granted partial custody so he has someone acting in loco parentis."

He considered dropping it, but then he remembered both of their faces when he'd said it. A little teasing was exactly what they deserved. Especially considering how true it was. "You adopted him."

"I'm twenty-two, Adam. I'm not old enough to be a father."

"I'm the same age, Takashi, and I'm pretty sure we both agreed that we didn't want kids. Yet here we are, with our son in the next room."

"He's not -"

"Why is he here anyways?" Adam cut in before it could become repetitive. "Shouldn't he be in his barrack."

"His roommate is the one he punched."

"Griffin, right?" Adam asked. He didn't have the boy in any of his classes yet, but he'd heard good things. He was supposedly smart and a teacher's pet, if a bit prideful.

"Yeah."

"Keith said he was being a dick?"

Takashi frowned, but nodded. "He made a jab at Keith. He admitted it when asked, but neither of them will say what he said. He's getting punished for bullying and had to give an apology, but considering Keith escalated it into a full-blown fight, he's being let off easy. Command didn't like the idea of them sharing a confined space without supervision, though, so Keith's going to stay here for the weekend to give them time to cool off. They didn't say it, but I'm pretty sure they expect him to stay inside the whole time, only leaving for his detentions and the extra drills Iverson assigned their class."

"Iverson assigned their entire class drills because the two of them got into a fight?" Adam finally looked up, confused. Iverson could be a jerk, but why would he assign drills for something unrelated to the class.

"No, Keith… went a little rogue in the group sim." At Adam's look, he hastily added, "In his defense, I think we all did that at least once during basics."

"Speak for yourself, Takashi."

* * *

"What are we going to do for Keith's birthday?"

Takashi looked up from the game he was playing with a frown. "What?"

"Keith's birthday. We are going to do something, right?"

"Oh, yeah, but it's still not for another…"

Adam raised an eyebrow as the pause dragged on. "Today's the sixteenth."

"I know that."

Adam waited a moment, then asked, "Takashi, you do remember our son's birthdate, correct?"

"He's not our son."

"But you did forget."

"… Is it the thirtieth?"

"You are a horrible father."

* * *

Keith frowned as he stared at the bouquet sitting in the middle of the kitchen table. "Why -"

"You're father is terrible at remembering important dates, including, apparently, our anniversary."

"He's not my father. And remembering dates is hard."

"I had to remind him about your birthday."

Keith proceeded to question the legitimacy of Takashi's birth in near perfect hindi.

* * *

"At least tell me you know when _your_ birthday is," Keith sniggered from his spot on the kitchen counter as Adam unwrapped his (belated) birthday present.

Takashi rolled his eyes. "Yes, Keith. We celebrated it, didn't we?"

"So…"

"The twenty-eighth of February, smart aleck."

"That is a blatant lie and you know it," Adam scoffed, pulling out his new watch. "His birthday is the twenty-ninth. And get off the counter."

Takashi sent him a betrayed look that Adam met with a blank face. He deserved any ridicule the kid gives him. It was almost a week after Adam's birthday, after all.

"There's no such thing."

Both adults turned to the teenager, who was frowning at them.

"What?" Takashi asked.

"There's only twenty-eight days in february."

The three stared at each other for a few minutes.

"Keith, my son, you're fifteen years old. How do you not know what a leap year is?"

"I'm not your son!"

"And did I not just tell you to get off the counter?"

* * *

 _"Lt. Wrona, your kid's in the instructors' lounge."_

 _"I'm not his kid!"_

Adam sighed and set down the coursework he was looking over. "Where's Lt. Shirogane?"

 _"The kid's got a soda."_

"On my way."

Hanging up the phone, Adam rubbed at the bridge of his nose before heading to the lounge. When he got there, Keith was sitting on the couch, sipping at one of the sodas they may or may not have kept hidden in the fridge depending on the rank of the person asking. PO3 Fierro was staring down at him with annoyance, but turned to Adam when he approached.

"I found him like this. He's lucky I'm the only one that saw him."

"Dos Santos saw me, he just didn't care," Keith muttered before taking another drink.

"Thank you. I'll deal with it."

She nodded, sent Keith another annoyed look, then left.

"Veronica's not even an instructor. I have as much right to come in here and drink the contraband as she does," Keith pointed out.

"I'm not a cadet, so no you don't," she snorted, peaking back inside. "Just because you're Shirogane and Wrona's kid doesn't give you an edge. You don't see me sneaking my brother in here when I'm on base, do you?"

"I'm not their kid!" Keith shouted as she disappeared again. He glared at Adam. "I hate you for spreading that around."

"Don't speak to your father that way." Fury filled Keith's face, but Adam carried on before he could act on it. "Who told you about the soda? Takashi?"

"I think we both know that if Shiro knew about the soda it wouldn't last nearly as long."

Good. Adam had worked hard to keep that off of Takashi's radar. An overabundance of caffeine dulls the effects of his electro-stimulators. He was just lucky Takashi hated the taste of both coffee and tea.

"No, it was that mouthy pilot. I heard him complaining about how his sister wouldn't sneak him one, whoever she is."

"You just met her."

Keith frowned. "Veronica is mouthy's sister?"

"His name is Lance, Keith. You've been in the same class all year. Honestly, have you learned any of your fellow students' names?"

"James," Keith snapped immediatly.

"You two are roommates and detention buddies. I'd be worried if you _didn't_ know his name. Do you know anyone else?"

"… Lance?"

"Where did we go wrong with you?"

Adam narrowed his eyes as he heard Keith mutter something into his drink.

"I didn't teach you that so you could use it against me."

* * *

Adam double checked the detention listing as he neared the room and was grateful to see that it still listed only Fierro and Apamemea. He disliked detention duty, but those two could at least be counted on to remain seated and quiet as long as they were placed next to each other and allowed to whisper while they worked on homework. Maybe he could get some of his own work done during the hour.

That idea went out the window when he opened the door to see Keith and Griffin glaring at each other from opposite sides of the room.

"What are you two doing here? You don't have detention."

"Lt. Shirogane told us we had to come, sir," Griffin said, immediately straightening up.

"Why?"

"Shiro caught us fighting," Keith said, doing the opposite and slumping against the wall.

"You don't look like you were fighting."

"He stopped it before it got physical, sir."

"You shoved me! How is that not being physical?"

Adam sighed and moved over to the instructor's desk as Griffin sent Keith a quick scowl before returning to attention.

"The full story." Keith opened his mouth and Adam quickly added, "Griffin, you first."

"Yessir. We had our group sim final today and during practice Oriol started messing around again. I was just warning him not to screw up the final for the rest of us, but then he said something in a language I didn't understand. I assumed since Lt. Shirogane mentors him, that he had said something in Japanese."

"Does Shiro even know Japanese?" Keith scoffed.

"Some, but not much. He only really uses it during the yearly call to his aunts in Japan," Adam answered. "He wouldn't be able to teach you anything you'd want to know, though."

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know how to curse in _English,_ " Keith snickered.

Adam rolled his eyes and gestured Griffin to continue. Honestly, Takashi had just as big a guttermouth as Keith. He didn't understand how his boyfriend had managed not to curse in front of the kid during the entire time he'd known him.

"Right, as I was saying, I assumed it was Japanese so I told him I didn't know the language. And then he -"

"He also called me an idiot."

"You are an idiot. You get it from you father. Continue, Griffin."

Both boys' jaws dropped before Keith's face screwed up in anger. "He's _not_ my father!"

"Griffin."

The other boy was biting his lip, clearly trying to hold in laughter. He quickly tried to compose himself and cleared his throat. "S-so, um," he breathed, laughter still in his voice.

"I swear, James, if you say one word about this, I will -"

"Keith, don't threaten your classmate. Griffin, if you would."

"Yessir, sorry. After that Keith yelled about how it was Hindi, not Japanse and that I was a… Well, the last part is too crude to -"

"I called him a dumbass."

"Keith," Adam groaned. "The reason I taught you to curse in Hindi was so that you wouldn't curse in a language everyone around you knows."

"Well, he wasn't getting it when I said it in Hindi," Keith muttered, slouching down more.

"You taught him Hindi?" James asked, not hearing the other boy.

"Only curse words. He doesn't have the patience for anything else."

"HEY!" Keith shouted as Griffin snickered.

"Now what happened after that."

Griffin immediately went quiet.

"That's when Shiro got there. He heard me yell and was coming over to tell us off, but James must not have seen him because that's when he decided to shove me."

"You were in my face, I was just pushing you back!"

"So he sent you to me to deal with," Adam tutted.

Keith shrugged. "Pretty much."

"He said that as long as we behaved during the final, he'd let us off with just a week's detention. He wouldn't even write us up."

"Which is probably a good thing," Adam snorted. "I don't even want to know how many times you both have been written up for fighting."

"He's the one that always starts it!"

"Maybe if you didn't have to act like a screw up all the time! And how many times have you punched me?"

"You deserved every punch."

"That's enough. You two are going to sit down and behave or I will write you up in Lt. Shirogane's place, understand?"

"Yessir."

"Yeah."

"Good. Then sit."

Both boys drift over to seats. Griffin at a desk just in front of the instructor's and Keith making a break for the back of the room.

"Keith," Adam calls before he gets too far. Once he's got his attention, he points at the desk directly to Griffin's right. "Sit.

"But -"

"Sit. You two need to learn how to be within three feet of one another without fighting."

Keith scowled and stomped over to the desk. As he dropped onto the chair, he cursed at him in Hindi and Adam responded in kind.

A moment later the door slid open to admit Fierro and Apamemea and Adam turned to them to check if they had work to do. Apamemea didn't, but he'd brought a book on cooking techniques to keep himself occupied.

"Daddy's bo-tssssss!"

Adam turned back to Keith and Griffin to see them apparently concentrating on their tablets, though Griffin's right hand was twitching towards his calf.

"Oh great, Keith's here!" Fierro moaned.

"Who are you again?"

* * *

"Hey Keith -"

"I'm not in the mood."

Adam turned a corner to see Griffin and Keith standing outside a classroom. Keith was staring at the opposite wall with a blank face while Griffin was giving him a considering - almost concerned - look.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" Adam said and the two boys jumped and spun to face him.

"Yessir. Sorry, sir," Griffin spluttered before ducking through the open doorway.

"Keith."

"Are-are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you su-"

"Did he send you?"

"No. He told me that I should stay out of it."

"Then you should listen to him. It's the only good idea he's had in awhile," Adam said pushing on past the kid towards his own classroom.

"I -"

"Class, Oriol."


	2. Aftermath

How dare they? How _dare_ they!?

How could they release information to the press before informing the Holts and Keith?

He was furious!

He didn't care if they had asked the press to hold off until the families could be told. With information like that, it was going to be everywhere by the end of the night.

He hoped Sam's wife raised hell when she and her daughter came in tomorrow to "find out." He wished he could tell her before, but he didn't have her contact information.

At least he could save the kid that pain.

He pressed his hand to the scanner and the door to Keith's barrack opened. He opened his mouth as he stepped into the doorway, then paused.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he groaned, "Griffin, remove yourself from Oriol. I need him for a moment."

Griffin leapt off Keith with a yelp. "Lt. Wr-Wrona! I -"

"Save it. I'm not in the mood for your troublemaking. Just straighten yourself out and leave before I decide to write you both up."

"Yessir!" Griffin quickly tugged the wrinkles from his uniform jacket and fled the room.

Keith, despite being far more rumpled, didn't even bother. Instead he crossed his arms, scowling at Adam with suspicion. "What are you doing here?"

"Considering I'm ignoring what I just walked in on, you could be a bit kinder."

"You've barely spoken to me in nearly a year. I think I have a right to be suspicious."

"Trust me, I'd love to dump this on someone else -"

"Clearly. I know they asked you to act in loco parentis while Shiro's gone and you told them to take a hike."

"It's not that simp-" Adam sighed and came into the room, shutting the door behind him. "Look, I'm not here to fight. There's something you need to know, about Takashi."

Keith immediately sat up straight. "What's going on? Is it about the next communication? They're not trying to keep me out again, right? Shiro made it clear -"

"It's not that." Adam sat next to the kid, but didn't bother reaching out. He was well aware the kid would lash out, either because of the news he brought or because it was him. "There isn't going to be a next communication. The Kerberos mission… It's been lost."

"What? How could i- How do you lo- What?" Keith stuttered in barely more than a whisper.

"There was a crash. The crew… Takashi and the others are being labeled missing, presumed dead. The crash was fatal and considering how far out Kerberos is, they can't risk launching a retrieval mission right now."

Keith started shaking his head. "No. No! That's no- You're lying! He… They… No!"

"It's true."

"How? How'd they crash?" Keith snarled, springing to his feet.

This was the part he'd been worried about the most. "It's being put down to pilot error."

Keith froze. "What?"

"Kei-"

"That's not possible! Shiro wouldn't make a mistake like that!" Keith exploded.

"We all make mistakes," Adam said, keeping his tone even.

"Shiro doesn't! Not one's like that! He's the best."

"He was also only human. And a sick one at that. There was a reason Sanda and Iverson - and I - didn't want him on that mission."

"He was fine! All his sim flight scores were as high as ever and the doctors cleared him!"

"Yes, but there was no way to predict how zero-g would affect his disease at this stage."

"So what? It must have been his fault then?" Keith snorted.

Adam shook his head. "I don't know, Keith," he said softly. "I'm just telling you what I found out. They haven't told me anything. I'm not even supposed to know this much, and I'm certainly not supposed to be telling you."

"Then why are you?"

"Because they already informed the press and if it's not being talked about on every news station and forum long before Iverson brings you and the Holts in tomorrow I'll join Harris for drinks."

Keith stared him down for a moment before ducking his head. "It's true?"

"I'm sorry."

Keith's fists clenched and Adam thought the kid was going to start swinging. Maybe at him, maybe at the walls, maybe he'd go running down the halls to Iverson. He also thought he might start screaming again, or maybe he'd do all of the above.

He certainly didn't expect the kid to throw himself at Adam, clinging to his chest and burying his face into Adam's neck as he started sobbing.

After the quick bout of shock passed, he wrapped his arms around Keith and held him close. "I'm sorry," he repeated quietly.

* * *

Keith was fuming when Adam came into the office.

"You come to lecture me too?" he growled. With his teeth bared and the low rumble filling the air, he reminded Adam of a wild cat.

Adam ignored it. "Get up and follow me."

Thankfully he did so without a word. At least until they reached the student barracks.

"Where are we going?" Keith asked, stopping.

"Keith, let's not do this in the middle of the hall."

A couple girls started whispering to each other as they stared at them and Keith's shoulders scrunched up before he pushed ahead.

He took the lead, stomping the whole way to his barrack. He slapped his hand against the scanner, sending Adam a glare.

"Here I was thinking you got expelled," Griffin started as soon as Keith stepped inside. "What were you thinking, attacking Iverson like that? Yeah, he probably should have had more tact than to mention Shiro in front of you, even if he was just trying to remind us to be cautious, but -"

Griffin cut off as he spotted Adam behind Keith.

He jumped to his feet and saluted. "Sorry, sir, didn't see you."

"At ease." Adam held the bag he was carrying out to Keith. "Pack up your things."

"What's going on?" Griffin asked, relaxing slightly into attention as Keith growled again and snatched the bag away before heading over to his wardrobe.

"Keith has been expelled. And he's lucky Iverson's not pressing charges."

"HE HAD IT COMING!"

"Keith, this isn't the first time you've gotten physical with someone on campus," Adam glanced at Griffin, who ducked his head, "and you had a record even before that. They have every right to expel you. You've proven you're a danger to students and teachers alike."

"I barely hit him," Keith muttered, yanking the bag closed.

"And yet his nose is broken and his ribs are bruised."

"Commander Iverson shouldn't have said what he did, sir," Griffin said, cautiously.

"No, he shouldn't have," Adam agreed with a glare at the wall. "And he's facing his own trouble right now, which is the only reason he's not pressing charges."

"He won't get much more than a slap on the wrist," Keith snarled.

Adam didn't bother to voice his agreement. "Do you have everything?"

Keith shot him a look and disappeared into the bathroom.

"Is he gonna be okay?"

Adam looked over at Griffin's quiet words.

"I just - I mean, I know that Lt. Shirogane - that he doesn't have anywhere…" he trailed off with a shrug, not meeting Adam's eyes.

"It's been taken care of. He'll be fine for now. As for the future, that's up to him."

Griffin nodded and went back to his bed, picking up the tablet he had been working on.

When Keith came out with his bag of toiletries, Adam grabbed the duffel bag and left. Keith followed after sharing a few mumbled words with Griffin. Adam led him out to the parking area and Keith's eyes darted over to the civilian lot.

Frowning, Keith asked, "Moira isn't here?"

"Moira?"

"My social worker. Montgomery said she was coming to pick me up. I thought you brought me out here because she was here."

"She was," Adam said, setting his hand on Keith's shoulder and leading him towards the personnel lot. "I -"

"What? You offered to personally escort me to the home. Thanks, but I think I'd rather walk."

"You're not going to the home."

Keith gave him a suspicious glare. "What do you mean?"

Adam unlocked his car and opened the passenger door. He set the bag inside then gestured the kid in. When Keith just crossed his arms, he sighed and leaned back against the car. "I talked to Mrs. Faulkner and she agreed to help me get custody of you."

Keith's jaw dropped. "You -" His eyes narrowed and he stepped back. "Why would you do that?"

"Takashi promised that you wouldn't have to go back to the home. The least I can do to honor his memory is keep that promise."

"No, the least you can do is stay out of it, like you've been doing."

Adam nodded. "I know I've been… okay, distant would be an understatement."

Keith snorted.

"It shouldn't have taken… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to completely push you away after the break up, but I did."

"So this is just to make you feel better about yourself then," Keith huffed and Adam grabbed his arm before he could march off.

"It's about making it up to you," he said softly. "I shouldn't have let what was going on between Takashi and I affect our relationship. Especially when he left. I wasn't there for you then, but I will be now. I owe it to both you and him."

Keith's scowl relaxed and Adam took that as his cue to pull the boy closer.

"Look, I understand if you don't want to stay with me. If it's what you really want, I'll take you straight to the home right now."

Keith stared at the ground for a moment before pulling his arm free and getting into the car.

Adam sighed, but otherwise stayed quiet as he walked around to the driver's side.

"Where are we even going?" Keith asked once they'd made it past the Garrison's walls. "You're apartment is on base."

Adam didn't realize he'd been sitting stiffly in his seat until he relaxed at Keith's words. "It is. But you're not exactly allowed to stay on the premises since you're no longer a student. Takashi got away with it before because we had the room and you were about to start at the Garrison. I've filled out the paperwork for off-base housing, I was just waiting for your decision to put it in. We'll only need a two bedroom apartment so it won't take more than a few days. Until then, we'll stay at a hotel."

Keith nodded and slouched down in his seat.

* * *

Adam glared into the empty room as his phone buzzed in his ear.

 _"_ _Adam?"_

"Where are you?"

 _"_ _At home."_

"I must have walked into the wrong apartment then because I don't see you anywhere," Adam snorted, shutting Keith's door.

A series of Hindi curses came from the phone. _"_ _You weren't supposed to be back until late."_

"The meeting was cancelled. Now where are you?"

 _"_ _I, uh… I don't know."_

"What do you mean you don't know?"

 _"_ _I didn't have any schoolwork to do today so I went for a walk and…"_

"You got lost."

 _"_ _Kind of,"_ Keith said slowly.

 _See Takashi, this is what happens when you let him grow up in the middle of a desert. No city survival skills._ "Alright, can you see any landmarks?"

 _"_ _Landmarks?"_

Adam grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter and headed towards the front door. "You know, street signs? Businesses? Maybe even somewhere you could go into to get an address?"

 _"_ _No."_

"There's no landmarks around you at all."

 _"…_ _There's a big rock. And a cliff. I think I saw a coyote den a short ways back."_

Adam paused, rubbed his forehead, took a deep breath, then continued on his way to his car. "Keith, are you in the middle of the desert?"

 _"…_ _I think I can see an eagle's nest up on the cliff."_

"Where did Takashi and I go wrong with you?"

 _"_ _You left when you broke up with him for wanting to go to space one last time and he went and died on me."_

Adam glared at his phone before connecting it to his car. "That was a rhetorical question, brat. Can you check the coordinates on your phone?"

 _"_ _How do I do that?"_

"The map app."

 _"_ _There's a map app?"_ There was a few moments of static as Keith fumbled around with his phone. _"_ _Okay, it says thirty-five degrees and forty minutes north by one-thirteen degrees and 17 minutes west. You know, with this I could just -"_

Adam entered the coordinates into the car's GPS, saying, "Stay where you are. I'll come get you. And then the two of us are going to have a long talk about wandering off out into the desert without supplies."

 _"_ _Great."_

* * *

"Keith -"

 _"_ _I brought supplies this time!"_

* * *

"What are you even doing out there?" Adam asked, glancing between the homemade ice tea he should be drinking and the can of soda he wanted to drink.

 _"_ _I don't know. I just feel like something's… calling out to me. Does that sound crazy?"_

"Very." Adam grabbed the soda and closed the fridge. "It's probably the grief."

 _"_ _I'm not going to a shrink."_

"It'd be good for you," he hummed, laying down on the couch. "And not just because of whatever's going on now. A psychiatrist could help with your anger issues and to work through the trauma from your time in foster care and losing your mom and two dads."

 _"_ _He wasn't my dad; I didn't lose my mom, she left; and I'm not seeing a shrink. I tried it before, remember?"_

"We'll get a garrison approved therapist, not some quack that calls for an exorcist just because an eight-year-old growled at him," Adam said, rolling his eyes.

 _"_ _Still not going."_

"Keith, you're hearing voices."

 _"_ _I am not! It's not voices, just… some sort of energy."_

"Right, that's much better," Adam snorted.

 _"_ _I'm hanging up now."_

"Are you going to need a ride or can you actually figure out your way home this time."

 _"_ _I could have figured out my way home the last seven times. I'm surprised you're not halfway here already."_

"Iverson caught Sam's daughter sneaking through his computer so we all had to sit through an hour long lecture on security. I'm not in the mood to chase you around the desert today. Just get back here before curfew or I'm going to start leaving you at the Garrison daycare."

 _"_ _Pretty sure they don't take anyone my age."_

"I'll sign you up as a volunteer. That way you'll get a babysitter _and_ get punished by taking care of a handful of brats. Two birds, one stone."

 _"_ _I'll just leave as soon as your gone."_

"You'd abandon a pack of helpless children? I thought I raised you better than that!"

 _"_ _I hate you."_

* * *

Adam stared at the hovercycle blankly.

"Keith, my son, I love you, but I do hope you know I'm not going to be as forgiving about Grand Theft Auto as Takashi was."

"Not your son and I didn't steel it," Keith deadpanned, not bothering to pull out of the engine compartment. "Can you hand me the spanner."

Adam looked down at the old toolbox next to Keith feet. "No." He shrugged when Keith's head finally appeared, only to give him a dirty look. "I'm a pilot, not an engineer. I have no idea what a spanner is."

"Didn't you have to take basic mechanics?" Keith snorted, digging an adjustable wrench out of the box before disappearing back into the engine compartment.

"It's not necessary for pilots as long as their communications officer took the course. Since most of them do, I opted for the first aid course."

"I was supposed to the basics for that next year. Shiro said it was best for pilots to know the basics of both engineering and communications."

"Of course he did. Takashi was an overachiever," Adam hummed. He shoved down the melancholy feeling and leaned over to peak at Keith's work. As far as he could tell everything was in good condition, if a bit dusty. "If you didn't steal it, then where did it come from? Because I know you didn't buy it."

"It was pop's. Found it when I decided to check out our old place. I was surprised it was still there. I figured it'd be the first thing the Davidsons would have sold off."

Adam raised an eyebrow and took a closer look at the engine. "You're saying this thing has been sitting out there for all these years? How'd you even get it here?"

Keith shrugged. "It seems to be okay, just needs a few tune ups. And some cleaning. Pops did a lot of custom work on it. I guess he made them to last."

Adam didn't think that sounded right, but what did he know about hovercycles or mechanics. "Is this thing street legal?"

"Yes?" he said slowly. "I know we used to take it into town."

"Good. Once you've finished up with it then we can update the registration."

Keith looked up at him with a smirk. "Does this mean you'll stop calling me everytime I'm out in the desert freaking out that I'm lost?"

"Nope."

* * *

"Pidge Gunderson."

"Here."

Adam briefly glanced at the student that answered before turning back to the attendance sheet.

Then he looked back up.

 _You've got to be kidding me._

He finished up the attendance and set the cadets to reading before subtly pulling out his phone and sending off a quick text.

 **Found her. She's fine. Talk later.**

He finished up the class as normal until the bell rang.

"Gunderson, a moment?"

"Sir?" she asked as she stopped by his desk.

"Hope you don't mind my curiosity. I know two of your team already has flight training so I was wondering why you're in my class," Adam said while the rest of the class filed out.

"I already have the engineering basics down. I figure physics of flight can be useful for pretty much anything."

Adam nodded mindlessly, watching the door shut behind the last student. He turned to the girl with a raised eyebrow. "Katie, what are you doing here?"

She froze before nervously adjusting her glasses. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Adam crossed his arms. "Katie, you look exactly like Matt, between the hair and gla-" He frowned and leaned closer. "Are you wearing his glasses?"

She fidgeted with the glasses again.

Adam sighed and straightened up. "What are you doing? You do realize you've been banned from the premises, right?"

The girl glared at the ground, fists clenching. "I'm going to find out what happened to my family."

"Katie -"

"I know you guys are lying about what happened. I don't care if you kick me out or charge me with treason or whatever. I'm going to find out what happened to them."

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're still on this?"

"I'm never going to stop."

What had he done to be surrounded by stubborn children?

Adam adjusted his own glasses before turning to the whiteboard. "Call your mom. She's freaking out because you disappeared on her."

There was a moment of quiet before Katie asked, "What?"

"She called me ear-"

"You… aren't going to kick me out."

"What would I need to kick you out for, Cadet Gunderson?" Adam turned to meet her eyes. "I know nothing. Call your mom and please try to keep out of jail, for her sake."

Katie studied him for a moment before nodding. "Yessir."

* * *

 **Found something. Think I'm getting closer to whatever it is I'm feeling out here.**

The text came alongside a photo of a pictograph featuring a giant blue lion running amongst a herd of gazelle.


	3. Return

**Hey-la-day-la my boyfriend's back!**

* * *

Fierro, Apamemea, and Katie were sitting outside Keith's shack when he pulled up. Apamemea had been working on a device with Katie's assistance while Fierro watched, but they quickly jumped to their feet as he parked.

"What are you three doing here?" he asked, hopping out.

"I- We- It wasn't -" Fierro sputtered while Apamemea shouted, "Lieutenant Wrona, we can explain!" and Katie spat, "I told you! I _told_ you!"

Adam ignored the three though because at that same moment Keith slid outside, looking defensive until he spotted Adam.

"What are you doing here?" the boy asked as Adam marched over and started feeling his forehead.

"Me? I agree to let you spend the night out here alone and in return I get woken up before sunrise by texts spouting nonsense." Well, he didn't have a fever, and he seemed coherent. He was certainly himself enough to glare at Adam and slap his hand away. "And when I come out here worried that you're dying of heat exhaustion or a snake bite or alcohol poisoning or head trauma, I find you've got three Garrison cadets on your porch looking up to no good. I swear, this better not have anything to do with that lockdown the Garrison went into or whatever Iverson wants to talk to me about when I get in."

Keith's hunched shoulders told him that that was exactly what it was about.

"What did you do?" He glanced over at the three cadets and scowled down at the boy. "Please tell me you're not buying into Katie's conspiracy theories."

"Who's Katie?"

Well there's some good news. "Keith, what's going on?"

"Did you get my text?"

Adam raised an eyebrow. "'Shiro's alive. I brought him back to the shack.' Yes, that doesn't answer my questions. Did you try sneaking into the Garrison and hit your head or something?"

"My head's fine. I -"

"Then why are you texting me nonsense at six-thirty in the morning?"

"It's not nonsense. I found him."

"Keith -"

"Adam?" a voice called.

The young man froze before turning to the figure standing just inside the doorway.

He was bigger than the last time Adam had seen him. Both bulked up and perhaps even a bit taller. There was a scar across his nose, a patch of white in his hair, and a stiffness to his posture that had never been there, but there was still no mistaking him.

"Takashi."

The other man gave an awkward smile and waved. "Hey."

Adam stared at his ex for a moment then he slowly turned to Keith with a disappointed look. "Keith, my son, I know you've been getting up to some weird stuff out here, but necromancy? Seriously?"

There was a choking sound from the group of cadets while Keith gave him a done expression.

"Adam -"

"Dead people don't get to talk," Adam interrupted.

"He's not dead," Keith huffed.

"Well not anymore."

"Keith's his son?" Katie hissed.

"He wasn't dead, moron."

"Don't talk to your father like that."

"Come on you two," Takashi interrupted, stepping between them and setting his hand on Adam's shoulder.

"Oh, don't get me started on you," Adam said, rounding on his ex. "If Keith didn't use black magic to bring you back from the dead -"

"Why is that even an option for you?" Keith snorted.

"- then where have you been?"

"Should we give them some space?" Apamemea whispered.

"You wanna miss out on this family drama?" Fierro whispered back.

"Yes."

"Adam, it's… it's a long story. We don't have ti-" Takashi started before Adam interrupted again.

"We thought you were dead! You left me to raise our son alone for a year!"

"What the heck!" Katie wheezed.

"I think you owe us an explanation!"

"They're your parents?" Katie asked, leaning up next to Keith.

"No."

"Then…"

"Adam's insane."

Adam set his hand over Keith's mouth and said, "Hush. Takashi, explain."

The other man glanced at the cadets before stepping aside and gesturing for Adam to come inside. Once he was in, Takashi shut the door.

"This is going to sound crazy," he sighed, moving over to sit on the couch with Adam following.

"You came back from the dead. I'm expecting crazy."

"I didn't die. None of us did."

"So the Garrison really was lying to us?" Well, he owed Katie for mentally calling her a crazy conspiracy theorist the past couple months.

"I don't know. I'm not sure how much the Garrison knows about what happened."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"I can't remember everything. My head… I think I hit it on re-entry. Everything's kind of fuzzy. We made it to Kerberos and had started harvesting, but then we were attacked. This giant ship just came out of nowhere and captured us."

"A ship? I didn't think anyone else had ships that could make it out that far."

"Not on earth," Takashi chuckled nervously.

Adam sent him an incredulous look. "Are you seriously blaming aliens?"

"You thought Keith used black magic!" his ex fired back.

"If you'd heard some of the stuff he's been babbling about over the past year, you would too," Adam said, dismissively. Who knows what exactly Keith had been getting up to while searching for the energy. "Alien abduction though?"

"I told you it would sound crazy."

Fair enough. "Alright, so you and the Holts got abducted by aliens. What happened after that? Where are Matt and Sam?"

"I don't know," Takashi said softly. "Everything's just - I remember getting grabbed, being a prisoner, but after that… I escaped, somehow, but I can't remember the specifics. And then I was here. The Garrison pulled me out of a ship and I tried to warn them, but they wouldn't listen. They gave me a sedative. The next thing after that was waking up here, with Keith watching over me and those three napping off to the side."

Adam frowned and leaned closer, his hand reaching out. "You said you hit your head?"

Takashi smiled and leaned over as well so Adam ran his fingers over his skull. "I think so. There's a bit of pain and, like I said, everything's fuzzy."

The fingers found a small knot just above his temple, hidden in the thicker part of his hair. Takashi tensed at the touch, but didn't pull away so Adam gently traced it. "You should see a doctor about this. That level of amnesia could mean severe damage."

"That's going to be difficult. Besides, I don't think it's just the physical trauma that's repressing my memories," Takashi chuckled, waving his right hand in the air.

Adam's eyes tracked the movement and he gasped as he realized the silver on his arm wasn't some sort of sleeve, but a metal prosthetic. One which moved just as a normal arm would.

"What did they do to you?" he whispered and brushed his hand over the warm metal.

"Too much," his ex replied, moving to link their fingers.

Adam dropped his hand and put some space between them. "So how did you go from Garrison custody to our son's shack?"

Apparently some things never change, given the blush Takashi gave. "He's not-"

"I'm guessing they didn't just let Keith take you."

Well, his serious face had improved. "He's not my son… And apparently he and the others _rescued_ me."

"Rescued you? From what, receiving proper medical aid?"

"It's Keith," Takashi snorted. "I'm pretty sure he saw me on that medical table and assumed they were going to spirit me away or kill me as a cover up or something."

That _did_ sound like the kid's mindset lately. "Fair enough. Especially if he's now got Katie whispering in his ear."

"Katie?" Takashi asked, looking bemused.

"I know, right. When did they even meet?"

"Katie who?"

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Katie Holt."

"Sam's daughter?"

"Yes."

"What about her?"

He gave his ex a disappointed look. "She's right outside."

"You brought her here?"

" _She_ brought _you_ here, alongside Keith and those other two."

Takashi blinked, then his eyes widened and darted to the door. "Pidge is Katie!?"

"She looks exactly like Matt, Takashi!"

"What happened to her hair? And why is she wearing glasses."

"She's in disguise."

"Why?"

"Children grieve in different ways, I guess. Keith became a hippie desert hermit and Katie became a conspiracy theorist."

"A conspiracy theorist?"

"She was convinced that the Garrison was lying about what happened on Kerberos so she went undercover in an insane attempt to uncover the truth."

"Well, I mean…" Shrio trailed off, gesturing to himself.

"Yes, I'm aware. Her first words to me when I got here were _told you_."

Takashi shook his head. "Well, that explains that - sort of - but what about Keith? Why's he living alone out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"He's not living out here, despite his best efforts," Adam answered, rolling his eyes. "We have a place in the Garrison off-base housing district. He just spends his free time wondering around out here hunting lion ghosts."

"You live together?"

Adam didn't know if he should feel insulted by the surprise in Takashi's voice. "Someone had to take care of him after you decided to become a Sci-Fi protagonist."

"I understand that, but… last I checked, the two of you weren't even talking."

Well that hurt. "Like I said, someone had to take care of him, and we both know no one else at the Garrison cared. Keith didn't really trust me at first, but we worked through it."

"That's good. I'm glad you guys had each other."

 _Only because you weren't here._ Adam shoved that thought down and stood up. "Right, so we should get you back to the Garrison now."

"Wait, Adam, there's something else," Takashi said, hopping up. "The aliens, the ones that took us, they're after something. Something here on Earth. A weapon called Voltron."

"What kind of weapon?"

"I don't know. But if they want it, then it's probably powerful. And they'll tear the Earth apart to find it."

"Then we really need to get to the Garrison. They have to be informed," Adam said, grabbing the handle for the door.

Takashi stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "I tried. They wouldn't listen, and we don't have time to convince them. The others and I have a plan."

 _Oh, this will be good._ "A plan, Takashi?"

"Yes, Adam, a plan. Pidge - Katie - has apparently been monitoring the aliens, which now makes sense knowing she's been looking for us. Hunk read her notes and picked out a fraunhofer line that he believes belongs to Voltron. He's putting together a Geiger counter with Katie's help that will lead us there."

"That's not what a Geiger counter does."

Takashi waved the comment away. "That's just how he described it. I think he was dumbing it down for us. Pidge and Hunk understand what they're doing."

"The kids had to dumb it down for you?" Adam teased.

"One of those kids is a Holt!" Takashi huffed.

Adam gave a patronizing nod and opened the door, just in time to hear Apamemea say, "Just drop it already, Lance."

"Let him answer the question, Hunk! I wanna know t- Wait, shouldn't that wire connect there?" Katie chirped.

"See Keith," Fierro said as she and Apamemea muttered to each other over the device they were finishing. "You gotta tell us."

"I told you already, Adam's insane."

"Come on! I had heard you and Shiro were related or something, but how come I never heard anything about you and Adam?"

"Takashi got him in the divorce," Adam interrupted.

Katie dropped the tool she was holding while Fierro pointed between Takashi and Adam erratically.

"They were _married_!?" he shrieked.

* * *

Adam raised an eyebrow when Takashi opened up his door.

"He-"

"Why are you still wearing your Black Ranger armor?"

Takashi blinked, then sighed. "How long are you going to keep calling us Power Rangers?"

"Until it stops annoying Keith."

"He doesn't even get the joke."

"I know."

"He's never going to stop being annoyed."

"I know."

"Can you please stop tormenting him? We have other things to focus on right now," Takashi groaned, pinching his nose.

"Never," Adam snorted, pushing past Takashi. "Speaking of Keith though, he's what I came here about."

"Why, what's wrong with Keith?"

Adam could see the worried dad mode activating within Takashi and quickly raised his hands. "He's fine. Well, as fine as an emotionally constipated, socially inept, and overly aggressive newly eighteen-year-old can be at least. The usual for Keith."

"Okay, then what did you want to talk about?" Takashi asked, sitting down on his bed.

"I was wondering if you think we should tell Keith about him being half-alien."

"… Wh-what?" Takashi stuttered.

"I mean, I'd like to think he'd figure it out for himself, but we both know he can be a little dense sometimes."

Takashi muttered something Adam couldn't hear, but he continued on.

"And he should probably know, but I'm not sure if now is the right time considering everything that just happened. Maybe we should give him a chance to let some of this sink in before loading more on his plate."

"You came to ask me… if we should tell him…"

"Well, like I said, I'm not sure, so I thought I'd come talk to you about it. He's still your son and now also your subordinate in this whole Voltron thing."

The word _son_ seemed to snap Takashi out of the daze he'd fallen in and as soon as Adam finished he said, "What on Arus are you talking about?"

"Bad joke, and I'm talking about whether or not we should tell our s-"

"He's not our son, and I get that. I'm asking about the whole _half-alien_ thing. What kind of joke is that?"

Adam leaned against the wall next to his ex and gave him a dead stare. "I'm not joking."

Takashi leaned back and crossed his arms, meeting the stare with one of his own. "Keith isn't half-alien."

"Well he certainly looks too human to be full."

"He looks human because he _is_ human."

"Not completely."

Takashi dropped his head back and closed his eyes. "Why would you think Keith's half-alien?"

"Takashi," Adam held up a finger, "the kid growls like an animal."

"He does no-"

Two fingers. "He weighs twice what he should for his size."

"Yeah, but -"

Three fingers. "His eyes are a weird color."

"They're not tha-"

Four fingers. "I'm pretty sure he can see in the dark."

"No he c-"

He waved his whole hand in front of Takashi's unseeing face. "He was able to find the blue lion out in the middle of the desert without using Hunk's device, which Lance - the Blue Lion's paladin - couldn't do."

"That could just be a Voltron thing," his ex huffed, opening his eyes and swatting the hand away.

"What about that time he purred when the two of you passed out on the couch together," Adam pointed out, putting his hands on his hips. "Humans can't purr, Takashi."

Takashi rolled his eyes. "You and Matt were hearing things!"

"No, we weren't. Also, he's got a glowing alien knife that his mother left him."

"He -" Takashi cut off, frowning up at Adam. "He's got a what?"

"A glowing alien knife," Adam said, smiling victoriously. "He found it while going through his dad's old things. According to him, his mom left it for him when she left. And it glows. Or the stone set into the hilt glows. How many stones on earth do you know that glow? And I don't mean glow in the dark, I mean produces light all on it's own glow?"

"Okay, that is kind of weird," Takashi allowed, "but I'm sure there's a better explanation than Keith being part alien."

"I thought so too, but then my ex came back from an alien abduction, a cadet hijacked an alien lion Zord, I met an alien princess, and I helped her protect her alien castle," Adam snorted.

"Yeah, okay, blaming aliens isn't crazy anymore, but that doesn't mean they're the reason for everything!"

"Not everything, just our kid's weirdest eccentricities."

"We have no reason to think aliens have been anywhere near Earth until Matt, Sam, and I were taken," Takashi argued.

"And we had no reason to think aliens had been anywhere near Earth at all until you returned," Adam countered. "I'm not saying the president's a lizard person. I'm just saying Keith's father lived a short drive from the Blue Lion. It's not unreasonable to think he might have met an alien at some point or another."

"Unreasonable, no. Unlikely, yes."

"Takashi," Adam set his hand on his ex's shoulder, "I was right about Kerberos and I am right about this, trust me."

"You weren't right about Kerberos. You thought I was going to die and I didn't."

"We thought you were dead, and I just said it was a bad idea," Adam said. He stepped away from the wall and Takashi stood up.

"It was a bad idea for completely different reasons than you thought!"

"It was still -" Adam cut off with an exasperated breath and turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't want to fight about this right now."

"I don't want to fight about it at all," Takashi said in a soft voice.

A few moments passed in silence before Adam turned back around. "We're tired. It's been a long, weird day. Let's just… talk about Keith later."

"There's noth- Yeah, you're right. Later."

Adam bit down his retort and nodded. "Night, then."

"Good night."

Adam walked over and opened the door before pausing. "Wash up and change. Try to get some rest."

"I'll try."

Adam left without looking back.


End file.
